Royal Heartache
by call-me-true
Summary: Troy is a Prince, Gabriella is the daughter of a powerful duke. She is in love with him, he loves a commoner. Will it be a Cinderella Story? Or will Gabriella get her prince? Present-day, more detailed summary inside. Rating may change to M later on
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned the HSM Franchise along with all the money it made….but I don't, I'm just borrowing the characters and making them royalty **** Also, I'm not an expert on the peer system, and I got most of my information on Wikipedia, so please don't be too harsh on the info and I don't mean to disrespect the monarchy by writing this. **

**Summary: Troy is the Prince of Wales and Lady Gabriella is the daughter of the most powerful noble, the Duke of Norfolk. Prince Troy has now turned 21 and his parents, the King and Queen, encourage and push for his marriage, even resolving to threaten him with an arranged marriage. Their sights are set on another person of noble birth. Unbeknownst to them, Gabriella is in love with Troy, who is also her very close friend. Things continue to get complicated when he falls for a mere commoner. Will it be a Cinderella Story? Or will Gabriella get her prince? Set in present day.**

**Royal Heartache Chapter 1**

"His royal highness the Prince Troy, the Prince of Wales," at that, all everyone in the hall turned to the grand staircase and watched as the Heir Apparent to the throne made his way down the stairs to his 21st birthday celebration. Prince Troy was a work of art, from his height of 6 feet, to his sturdy, muscular, but not too extreme, upper body. His face was almost like a sculpture done by one of the masters. But his most appealing feature was his piercing, mesmerizing turquoise blue eyes. They were stunning and captured the hearts of girls, ladies, and women all over the world. Fortunately for them and to the dismay of his parents, he was still unmarried, but if the king and queen had anything to do with it; that would soon change…

He first made his way to greet his parents, King John and Queen Anne. As custom required, Troy bowed to his parents and received a few words of congratulations. Troy loved his parents and respected them but it was not considered proper for him to show much emotion at these public parties. So after exchanging a few words and encouraging smiles, Troy started his rounds of greeting all of the nobles and heads of state. A smile found a way on his face as he made his way to the most powerful of the dukes and father to one of his best friends.

"Your highness, congratulations on your birthday and may your coming years be filled with happiness and perhaps a little love!" Lord George Montez, the Duke of Norfolk was a round and jolly looking man when at public functions. But when matters of the state were in issue, he was a cutthroat, charismatic, and eloquent man who held such power over people which made him a great politician. His wife, the Duchess Maria Montez stood beside her husband nodding her head and sharing a smile.

"Thank you your grace! I will be sure to find happiness soon. As for love, I would be delighted to, but I haven't met the perfect girl yet." Troy let out a little chuckle. He cleared his throat and asked, "So where is the Countess? Hopefully she's not making trouble anywhere." The duke let out a laugh, he pointed across the room to a brunette beauty standing in the corner with a group of younger elites. "Well then, I should make my way over there and make sure she and my cousin don't ruin the night. Excuse me and please enjoy tonight, for me!" The three shared another laugh and Troy started to make his way over.

Being the guest of honor for the night, many other nobles stopped the prince to share their congratulations, but he couldn't help but internally groan and count the seconds before he could join his friends. As Lord Charles, the Duke of Beaufort was talking; Troy could not help but keep looking over to the brunette and her circle. In between their conversation, Troy's eyes met hers. He couldn't help but notice how her Chocolate eyes seemed to glisten under the chandeliers. Noticing this, Lord Charles quickly wrapped up what he was saying, "I'm sorry, I should have been more considerate, to bore a young man with such dull words was ignorant of me. I apologize. Please, our son has been dying to see you again, he would be angry to know that I've been keeping you." Troy laughed and saw the duke point his best friend.

"Well I thank you, your grace." With a final slight bow, Troy turned around and finally got to his destination.

The brunette was the first to speak, "We would all like to congratulate your _royal highness_ in reaching the big 21." She said with a slight smirk and an over-exaggerated and overly formal curtsy.

"Why thank your Lady Gabriella, _Countess _of Surrey," he responded with a smirk and bow of his own. The two stared at each other for a moment before they broke out into laughter. All the others around them all joined in.

"No, but in all seriousness, happy birthday buddy! I would give you a hug, but I don't think I'm allowed," she said with a little smile.

"Thanks Gabi! I really don't think it's a big deal, I mean come on I can already drink, gamble, drive, everything I need. But I guess it's nice to see such beautiful ladies all dressed up for me. And honestly, I can't help but be a little disappointed about not getting a hug from such a gorgeous young lady…" the prince replied with a wink.

Gabriella couldn't help but blush every time he would say something like that. Who wouldn't if the person they liked complimented them?Yes it was true, the still 20 year-old noble was madly and truly deeply in love with Prince Troy. They had been acquaintances since childhood, but became great friends until only a few years ago. Some even described the two as best friends. The duo could tell each other anything, that was what was so great about their relationship. It was also a plus that both were easy on the eyes.

Gabriella, when her hair was loose, had long brown locks that reached the middle of her back. She was stood at 5 feet 5 inches without the help of heels. On her gorgeous face sat two chocolate colored orbs that seemed to pierce your soul. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Countess Gabriella was lovely.

While the two were lost in their little world, an impatient princess couldn't help but interrupt.

"Can you two stop flirting and pay attention to the rest of us?" interjected a blonde beauty.

"Oh, Princess Sharpay! How could I possibly forget about you! I'm so sorry your royal highness!" Troy replied in a somewhat sarcastic tone. She shot him a dirty look. He couldn't help but make fun of his cousin and her need to have the attention on her. Sharpay was the daughter of his father's younger brother, making her the Princess of Gloucester and her twin brother Ryan, the Prince of Gloucester. "So how are you guys all enjoying the party?"

"Man, are you serious? It's basically people coming to show off their expensive clothes and talk about boring things. Definitely not how I would want my birthday celebration to go." Troy's best friends couldn't help but say this in a voice full of pity. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll all be able to throw you a real party soon," he added while nudging the birthday boy.

Troy looked around the room before replying, "Thanks Chad, I knew you were my friend for a reason." The two were about to do their secret handshake when Chad's wife cleared her throat and elbowed her husband. Hard.

"Chad! There are people watching!" Taylor was always on the look-out and was everyone's babysitter making sure that nothing improper was done. Ever since she got married she had gotten stricter. Chad was the Marquis of Worcester which made Taylor the Marquise of Worcester.

The whole gang was all from titled, rich, full of responsibilities, noble families. They were used to the hushed jokes and their responsibility to show the least amount of affection possible. It just came with their names. But it was the worst when they were forced to come to these big galas with many old people talking about business and useless small talk almost once every two weeks. They all would have rather been at one their houses sipping wine, champagne, or beer just having fun with each other. The heavy jewelry, stifling suits, and the too elaborate dresses didn't help much either.

"How long is this even going to last?" Zeke, more formally known as the Marquis of Hartington, and also known as Princess Sharpay's soon-to-be fiancé. "Honestly, I can think of a lot of other things I would rather be doing." He said with a wink at Sharpay.

"Okay, I did not need to hear that. Sorry, but I feel like we're going to be here for a while. I still have my cake to cut. But how about we all go out as early as possible and hang out. And in the meantime we can drink some amazing champagne." Troy said while grabbing his own flute. He was dying to leave but what kind of prince would he be if he left his duty as guest of honor unfulfilled? Speaking of duty, Troy couldn't help but be overwhelmed at the thought of all his new responsibilities. Suddenly his tie felt too tight and the room was stifling. "You, know what? I need some air. You guys hang in there for a little while." With that he left leaving one brown-eyed girl worried.

Gabriella had been silently watching Troy. That's what she's been doing lately, just watching him. She couldn't help but look at his flawless face and fall in love. She had been getting lost in his eyes when she could see a streak of panic flash across. When he excused himself, she quickly followed him outside.

It was late April and the weather was a bit breezy, but not too cold. The sun had just set, but part of the sky was still a beautiful orange and red color. Staring out in the distance at the edge of the balcony was her prince. She slowly walked up next to him and put her hand on his arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked in almost a whisper. It was silent for a minute and she could hear his slow breathing.

"No." with that he turned around and his turquoise blue eyes bore into her own chocolate ones as he had a slightly pained expression on his face. She knew he had something to get off his chest, but she didn't want to push him. In time he would come to her. He always did. Whenever he was conflicted or just needed somebody, she was always there for him. It was just how their relationship was.

Troy was always grateful to have Gabriella around. She was the only person could helped him stay sane. Lately as he had gotten older and more responsibilities had been laid upon him, he couldn't help but doubt himself and his ability to handle it. Or if he was conflicted about his identities and his duties, she was always there. She could reason everything out for him. She could make everything scary and stressful amount to nothing. She was his voice of reason and the reason he was still standing where he was today.

Staring into his eyes, her heart couldn't help but beat faster. She had to try so hard to resist the urge to hug him and hug the pain out. Gabriella also couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way, if his heart was beating as fast as hers, or if his arm tingled liked her hand did. She wished he would feel the same. She wished he would, but she had yet to figure out how to read him.

**Author's Note: This is just eh first chapter. Lots and lots more to come. Tell me how you like it; I would love to hear your opinions. I know it's really strange to imagine these characters as English royalty but please give the story a shot! Thanks for reading and please review!**

**~ callmetrue**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks for the kind reviews! This is the second chapter. Hopefully I can post a chapter every other day. Hopefully. Well enjoy!**

**Royal Heartache Chapter 2**

Neither one of them knew how long they had been staring into each other's eyes. It could have been second or minutes, but finally Troy turns his gaze back into the distant sky and Gabriella felt a shiver run through her body as a colder wind began to blow. "Gabi, are you cold?" Troy had turned to look her way again and made a motion to take off his jacket for her.

"No it's alright. I wouldn't want you to take off your jacket. Who knows when they're going to come looking for you." With that Gabriella crossed her arms.

Troy realized she was right. He never knew when he was needed. Some random person would come looking for him at the worst times. So he moved towards her and wrapped an arm around her. Gabriella could feel the temperature of her body rise, her breathing get more uneven, and her heart beat even faster than before. She loved him when he would hold her. There was no other place she would rather be than in his warm arms.

Troy liked Gabriella. She was a sweet girl, easy to talk to, beautiful, smart, and most of all she didn't judge anyone. He knew that his parents were crazy about her. If they could pick who he would marry, Troy knew Gabriella was at the top of their list. He, on the other hand, wasn't too sure. There was no doubt that he loved her. But was he _in_ love with her? He knew she was a good friend to have around. But would he be able to marry her or view her in a romantic light? Sure he liked to flirt with her but it was harmless. Right? And he did flaunt her at public events so that other annoying nobles wouldn't hit on him. Having her on his arm also stopped the old geezers from trying to set him up with their children. She was also always so helpful, he loved it. He had yet to sort out his feelings for her.

Subconsciously he began rubbing his hands up and down her arm. A lazy smile appeared on Gabriella's face. She couldn't help but remembering this night two years ago, that was when she knew she was falling for the prince. She broke the comfortable silence. "Hey, do you remember your birthday two years ago?"

Troy let out a small chuckle. "How could I ever forget? That was the day I got a hot new best friend." Both broke out into laughter.

"_Congratulations again your highness!"exclaimed a very jolly Lord Montez. "I hope university has been treating you well. How are the old halls of Cambridge treating your royal highness?"_

"_Thank you your grace. It's okay not too exciting. But my first year has been pretty great over all. I don't think I'll mind gong there for the next three years. And of course it's great to attending a school with my close friends as well."It was true. Going to school with Sharpay, Chad, and Ryan was not boring to say the least. We all had at least two classes with each other and usually hung around the campus enjoying each other. It was quite a change that brought them together even closer._

"_Well that sounds like the perfect environment! Our own daughter will be attending there in the fall as well. Does your highness remember our daughter, Countess Gabriella?"Troy nodded his head. She had been close friends with his cousin and Chad's fiancé, Taylor. "She was studying in France but she will be attending Cambridge as well in the fall. "If it won't trouble, may we ask that you that watch out for her?"_

"_Why of course Lord Montez. I'm sure she will fit right in."_

"_Speaking of which, here she comes."The duke pointed to a beautiful brunette who was walking up behind Troy. The prince turned and was met by two beautiful eyes on a beautiful face. She curtsied. "May I present our daughter, Lady Gabriella, Countess of Arundel and Surrey." To be honest when she looked up Troy could feel his heart skip a beat. She was gorgeous._

"_My lady." Troy in turn made a little bow. Gabriella couldn't help but get lost into his beautiful eyes. His light brown looked pretty hot slicked back also allowing her to see his glittering eyes more clearly. All she could think about was how attractive he was. _

'_Okay Gabriella. Calm down. Deep breathes. Don't make a fool out of yourself.' She couldn't help but feel nervous. There was something about him and the slight smirk he had on his face that kept her on edge, at the tip of her toes._

"_So I hear you're joining us next year at Cambridge. Looking forward to it?"_

"_I guess you could say that. It would be nice to go to school with people you actually know. And I'm pretty sure Sharpay will keep me entertained." They both laughed at how true that statement was. The rest of the night they kept each other company talking about how university was and random stories that Gabriella had of France. Eventually the rest of their friends joined I on the crazy stories, filling Gabriella and all that she missed while she was away._

_With Gabriella joining, the most elite group had been formed. They were from that day referred to as the Elite Eight. They had 2 princes, a princess, 2 marquis who would later become dukes, and three ladies with titles themselves. Things were looking pretty good. Not to mention they were all coupled off now. Sharpay and Zeke had been officially dating for a year and a half, Chad and Taylor were engaged, Ryan and Kelsi had just made it official. Now all they were waiting for was Troy and Gabriella to make it official. It just made sense. Right?_

"Wow I feel like not much has changed from that night." She whispered wistfully. She wished things had changed between them. But unfortunately they hadn't. Gabriella looked up to his face. Why couldn't he love her?

Troy also looked down and caught a pained expression that rain across her face. It went away quickly as it had come. He gave her a small smile and was about to ask her what was wrong when the balcony door behind them opened.

"Her majesty the queen is looking for you, your highness." The tuxedo-clad man announced and went through the doors which he came through.

Troy let out a huge sigh. "Do I have to?" he asked with a little pout. Gabriella couldn't help but laugh at how immature her friend looked.

"Well I'm afraid your highness that duty calls." She gave him an encouraging smile. Troy let out another long sigh and removed his arm from Gabriella and began fixing his ridiculous suit. She couldn't help but miss his warmth as another shiver ran through her body.

"You're right Gabi, you always are." He gave her a big smile, grabbed her small hand and they made her way back into the crowded ballroom.

The eight were able to finally escape the gala around ten and they all headed back to Sharpay's living quarters. She had a special part of her house dedicated for their hangouts, as did all of their houses, but Sharpay's was the closest. On top of an open bar which ALWAYS had a bartender on call, there was a classy, aesthetically pleasing lounge with pool, air hockey, and foosball tables. On one wall there were shelves full of movies and TV shows while another wall had all of the video games for the guys. There was a built in theater system with huge speakers, video game consoles, and an even bigger TV. Also connected to the lounge was an indoor pool, used when the weather was cold, and an outdoor pool for the warmer days, both with a built Jacuzzi. It was a paradise for all of them.

Each one ordered their drinks and celebrated the birthday of their friend. Being in a private party allowed everyone to give their gifts and just hang out with each other bathing in each other's company. The guys later moved on to play pool while the girls just stuck around with drinks in hand and talked about their exhausting night.

"…I loved that Dior dress that the Countess of Albany was wearing, but come on! Her jewelry was appalling! Who was she trying to outshine? The queen herself? Ridiculous!" Sharpay just shook her head at the thought. Gabriella just absently nodded her head, too busy sneaking glances at Troy. "Anyway, we have to start planning for the benefit next month. Has Auntie Anne asks any of you to head a committee yet?"

Taylor was quick to respond, "She hasn't formally assigned me anything yet, but she just asked that I finish the invitations in a classy and elegant fashion." The two turned to Gabriella for an answer but Gabriella just nodded her head yet again. "G! Are you listening?" they received another nod. "G? Have you been listening? GABRIELLA!" At that she finally turned back.

"Yeah? What were you saying?"

"Hmmm…Little miss Countess, have you been checking out a certain cousin of mine?" Gabriella started pinking in the cheeks.

"No…" she replied softly but she knew she sounded unconvincing, even to herself. At that second Troy looked over and sent her a wink. If she was pink before, this turned her bright red. This definitely did not go unnoticed by her friends who all began laughing at her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We definitely don't believe you. But don't worry; we're all rooting for you to. I mean now that Troy's 21 you guys are going to have to tie the knot soon."

"Thanks Sharpay. Wait what? When did I say we were going to get married! We're not even together? And you say it as if he _has _to get married now."

"You didn't know? Or did you just happen to forget? I'm pretty sure they taught this to you during your customs and etiquette class."

"Learn what?" now even Kelsi had no idea what Sharpay was talking about.

"Wow, you guys really need to listen when they teach you about customs and history. Geez. Hey! At least I feel smart." She said with a smile.

"Oh my God Sharpay! Out with it!" Gabriella couldn't take it any longer.

"Fine! It's not really a law but basically tradition that the Crown Prince, in this case Troy, has to get married within the year. Usually in the past the princes were already married or at least engaged at the time of their birthday." This was met by silence. But Taylor was the first to speak.

"Oh…that's weird. But I feel like I heard it before. Wait. But why? It's not like he needs a wife."

"Well like I said, it's not really a requirement but a tradition. Now that he's older, he needs to take on more responsibilities, almost like King-Training. But kings usually don't rule alone, so basically he needs to get married so his wife takes on her responsibilities and gets her Queen-Training. You know royalty, they like their women prim and proper. So basically you'll be getting your prince soon."

"Why do you keep saying that? How do you know we'll even get married? We're not even together!" with this she snuck a look back at Troy to see that he was completely engrossed in his game.

"Well who else will he marry? I mean come on you're perfect! You're beautiful, you have the title, you have the powerful parents, his parents love you, and I'm pretty sure he loves you. Why wouldn't it work out?" Gabriella listened to her odds and couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope. "If he doesn't have anyone in mind, I'm sure Auntie Anne will just persuade him to marry you. And knowing him, he probably doesn't anyway, so don't worry about it."

That was true, if Troy did have a significant other, he would have definitely introduced her to them. But the last part made Gabriella wince. "You make it sound like Troy has to be convinced to marry. It's not like I want to marry him for the title or the money. I have all that…"

"Oh sorry G! I never meant it like that! I'm just saying since he has nobody and he probably likes you, so he'll propose. It's as simple as that! And who cares if you two aren't in love at the wedding? You have the rest of your lives to fall in love."

At this the other two girls agreed. They all knew that Troy and Gabriella belonged together. They were absolutely perfect for each other! Even the guys knew that! That statement may have been true, but it wasn't enough for Gabriella. If they were to get married, she wanted him to propose to her because he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Not because she was perfect for the role or because she was the best he can do in the short amount of time. She couldn't help it. These thoughts wouldn't stop plaguing her mind.

With this the other girls considered this the end of the conversation and joined their significant others at the pool table. Gabriella couldn't get up yet. She just sat there and thought.

She determined one thing:

She wanted love and only _his love_ would do. That's the only thing she wanted in life. His love.

If only he could see that…

**Author's Note:** Wow, pretty sad ending. Can't say yet if this is the last of the depressing part, but next chapter should be interesting. This chapter was just kind of a filler, just setting up the story.

Thanks for reading and please leave me some reviews with your thoughts!

~ callmetrue


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Once again, thanks for all of the reviews and alerts! They make me quite happy **** many thanks. I'm not sure how long I want to make this story. I was thinking into the twenties, but it would be pretty dramatic. Or it would be into the late teens. Either way I think the story will be finished before the summer. Leave me your thoughts!**

**Royal Heartache Chapter 3**

This is ridiculous! How could he totally forget about the marriage when you turn 21! Troy could remember when he was young and was taught that he was going to have to get married at that age but he completely forgot about it. Sure, at the time he thought that he would have a long time girlfriend and all that would be left to do was the actual ceremony. Obviously that didn't really happen.

But what Troy thought was more ridiculous were his parent's attempt to subtly bring it up. The one thing it wasn't was subtle.

"_Your highness, his majesty the king and her majesty the queen request your presence for lunch in their quarters."Troy sighed; he had been planning to catch lunch with Gabriella. He jumped off of the treadmill slightly frustrated. It could never be a good thing when his parents asked him to lunch through one of their butlers. It meant that they were either scheming something or were trying to figure out a way to tell him something he didn't want to know. If only he knew how right he was._

_He showered quickly and threw on a light but bright blue polo and a pair of beige chinos. He slowly made his way into his parent's part of their gigantic "house." As he got closer he could hear the soft whispering of his mother's voice. Now sirens were going off in his head. This cannot be good for one. He took a deep breath and walked in with a smile plastered on his perfect face._

"_Good afternoon mother. Father," he said nodding his head at the king. His mother motioned for him to join them at the table already lined with expensive china and silverware. _

"_Hurry and sit. The food should be served soon." He followed his father's orders and soon lunch was served. Although the food was no doubt deliciously prepared, Troy couldn't taste any of it. He was nervous with what his parents were going to throw on him. He could hear his parents exchanging words on their plans for the evening and the rest of the week. He began drifting to his own world when his mother suddenly snapped him out. _

"_Troy, dear, I'm afraid we need to talk." That little statement cued the sweating of the hand and the acceleration of his heart. _

"_Okay…" was the only word that left his mouth._

"_Do you remember when you were little and you thought-"_

"_Anne, just get to the point!" at that his mother cleared her throat gave her husband a look and said._

"_Troy, I'm afraid you're going to have to make up your mind on which lady you are going to marry." His mouth went completely dry._

"_What? Marry? Why? I'm only 21! I'm still young and-"_

"_That's exactly why dear. You're 21 now and our tradition holds that you need to get married so that you and your wife will be able to conduct your duties. We were going to remind you but we figured you would remember this kind of important information. And it's not like marrying at 21 is that ridiculous. I married your father when we were both 20 and even Lord Chad is married already."_

"_Well Chad is older than me!" Troy was desperate to think of any excuse to get himself out of this._

"_Yes, but he was still got married at your age."His mom had a point._

"_I guess… So does this have to happen by a certain day? No right? I mean there can't be a deadline right?"_

"_We and parliament both agree that you should be married by your next birthday."_

"_Oh, so I have a whole year to figure it out." This calmed Troy down a bit, that is until his mother and father both started laughing._

"_Now don't be silly Troy! If you need to be married by the time next April rolls around you need to be engaged by this June."_

"_Mother! That's only in a month! And why do you need a whole ten months to plan a wedding?"_

"_It's not just the wedding. There's the engagement, the official engagement party, the formal dinner, the ceremony to coronate her as a princess, the passing of the jewels, the wedding reception, and of course the formal lessons she will be getting. There are loads to do, even ten months is not enough."_

_Troy's head was spinning and also threatening to explode. This was absolutely ridiculous. "And you couldn't warn me so I could at least start looking?"_

_His father stepped in this time. "Like your mother said, we were going to but we figured you would remember such an important fact." Troy could practically feel his eyes rolling to the back of his head. How _could_ he have forgotten this? "And as for the looking part, we figured you already had decided."_

"_What? On who?" Troy would have known if he was going out with a person. And he would have DEFINITELY known if he proposed to someone._

"_Well the Countess Gabriella of course!" his eyes got wide. What? "And we couldn't have been happier for such an amazing lady to join our family. She is a beauty and her manners are impeccable. She will fit right in, don't worry Troy."_

_While his mother continued to gush about how wonderful Gabriella was Troy just sat still thinking. Gabriella? Sure she was an amazing friend, but marrying her seemed a bit too extreme. He had no doubt she would fit into the position, but didn't his heart matter more than the perfect fit? Well if he had to choose she would have been at the top of his list, but still, this was a lifetime commitment here! He could see both pros and cons of the situation. He needed time; time to think about the rest of his life, to think about his heart and what it wanted. He was so lost in his thought he didn't even hear someone walk into the room. _

"_Countess Gabriella! How nice of you to join us! Sorry for my late request, this was a bit of a last minute lunch."Troy's eyes doubled in size as he turned to see his best friend standing next to the table shyly in a casual but proper floral dress. _

"_No, it was no problem, your majesty. I should be the one apologizing for arriving late." Though she was quite happy she wasn't here earlier. She wasn't stupid; she knew that they had just told Troy the whole marriage thing. And she also was smart enough to figure out that they had probably told him to marry her. Boy was this awkward._

_When she met Troy's eyes she gave him a small smile. He tried to return one, but it didn't really look like his usual smiles. Gabriella couldn't help but feel a little hurt. It dawned on her that second. She finally knew now that he definitely did not like her. It broke her heart. The little hope left in her heart was shattered._

_Gabriella had always known her feelings toward Troy, but she had never been able to discover his feelings. But now it was so painstakingly clear. He didn't love. That was that. _

_The rest of the lunch felt like a disaster for Gabriella. Troy didn't even know what was going on as the internal battle within him still raged on. The two monarchs however, were too happy for the young "couple" in from of them that they didn't even notice. Since Troy had not objected, the two assumed that the engagement and marriage would happen and were delighted. If only the same could have been said for Gabriella and Troy, more so for the heartbroken countess than that confused prince. _

Gabriella stayed after lunch with the queen just to talk and get to know each other. She figured that the queen wanted to get to know her "future daughter-in-law" better, but Gabriella though otherwise. Troy had left immediately after lunch excusing himself saying he had business to take care of. He left telling Gabriella that he would talk to her later. It was _really _awkward to say the least.

After a nice cup of tea with the queen in her precious sun/garden room, Gabriella was about to start dropping hints of departure, but a too happy voice filled the room. "Auntie Anne!" She bouncy blonde came strutting in, in her regular fashion.

"Sharpay! I didn't know you were planning to visit so soon! What a pleasant surprise! I was just here having a nice chat with the countess." Queen Anne gave Gabriella a warm smile. There was no doubt that the queen was in love with the idea of Gabriella marrying her son. But she wasn't the only one in the room.

"Oh auntie, I'm afraid someone's going to steal my spot as your tea time buddy." Sharpay said this with a cute fake pout. Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Well since I already missed tea, can we go out and play tennis?"

"Oh honey I would love to! But, unfortunately, the table settings and color schemes for the upcoming benefit aren't going to pick themselves. But you two girls enjoy each other's company, I will take a rain check." With that and another warm smile Troy's mother gracefully excused herself and left.

Once she was sure that her aunt left Sharpay began questioning her friend for information. "So I hear you had lunch with Troy and the parents. But I don't see a ring on your finger!"

The last person Gabriella wanted to talk to right now was Sharpay and her overly happy and confidant character. "I really don't want to talk about this right now…can we please go outside and play tennis or something so I can get my anger out?" Her friend knew something was wrong. She silently nodded her way and the duo left for the courts.

_Smack! Bounce. Smack! Bounce. Smack!_

Tennis was nice, it was one of the many sports Gabriella excelled in but that wasn't why she liked it. She liked it because she could hit the crap out of the ball and it still came back for more. She could feel the sweat pouring out and she liked the feeling. Sharpay on the other hand was not enjoying this game as much. "G! Calm down! It's not even a real game!" but that didn't stop another smash to come from Gabriella's racket. When this particular volley almost hit Sharpay the blonde had had enough. "Oh my God G! We are stopping right now and we are going to talk!"

Gabriella didn't want to talk. So even when Sharpay moved off the court she just kept serving one ball after another. Over and over and over again. Pretty soon she could feel more than just sweat leaving her body. Sweat, tears, cries, and screams. But soon she stopped everything. She just stood there and Sharpay came and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Did he say no?"

"He didn't say anything."

"Why are you crying then? Just because he didn't say anything doesn't mean it's a no!"

"No Sharpay! You don't understand! He didn't say anything! He doesn't love me like I love him! It's over!"

"G… You don't know that."

"Yeah I do. Don't worry about it, I'll survive. I'll tell him it won't happen and that'll be the end of it and we'll be friends again. It'll be like nothing ever happened."

"Oh, honey. Are you going to be okay with that?"

"It doesn't matter what I feel or think." With tears streaming down her face Gabriella turned and walked back to her things. Sharpay followed and placed her hand on the back of her small friend who seemed so much frailer than she normally did.

"It's going to be okay." Gabriella doubted that.

"I'll deal with it…"

Sharpay was upset, no, she was beyond upset, her worst nightmare had occurred; Troy had left Gabriella heartbroken. _I'm going to kill that boy…_

He hated this. He needed time but all he could feel the pressure build and build on his shoulders. It wasn't that he wanted to say no, it was just that he couldn't say yes! He couldn't help but feel bad for Gabriella who was now stuck in this middle of this enormous mess. He knew the pressure on her would be the same if not greater on her.

If only he knew the real reason she was upset.

Troy needed to clear his head before he made any real decisions. He picked up his phone and called Chad, "You up for some basketball?"

Twenty minutes later the two of them were on an outside court facing off. "So what did you say?" The inevitable conversation has begun…

"I didn't say anything. There was nothing to say."

"What are you talking about? You either say yes or no; it's as simple as that." Chad knew, no everyone knew about Gabriella's feelings, except of course Troy.

"I couldn't do it because either way our friendship would have been ruined. If I said yes we would be forced to live in a marriage that was part sham. And if I said no I knew it would make problems for her with her family and of course problems with my parents." Chad's stomach dropped at this statement.

"You don't feel anything for Gabriella?"

"No, of course not, she's my close friend." Troy knew that the statement was only half true. He did like her as more of a friend, but he just didn't know how much that affection amounted to. It also seemed as though Chad knew it too.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I need time." With that he ended their basketball game, jumped into his fastest car and drove out by himself. Driving fast always made him feel better, just the humming of the car and the exhilaration of speed just calmed him down.

Driving for hours made Troy feel better and his head clearer. He looked down at his left pinky finger where there sat a gold ring. It was the ring that was passed down from generation to generation in his family. The ring with his family's crest, the ring that represented what he was: the Crown Prince of England. It was this ring that conflicted him so much. It represented his duty towards his people and the country that will one day be ruled by him. The little gold ring that held his crest was one of the two things in his life that always kept him on track. He couldn't embarrass his ancestors by ruining tradition.

He would do it. He had decided. He would marry Gabriella. For the sake of his family and for the sake of the country. And who knew, love could always blossom, no?

But fate was cruel.

When he had been too absorbed into his own thoughts he had hadn't been watching the road. But when he did, it was already too late. The other car had come out of nowhere and hit the side of his car. Because he hadn't been paying attention Troy assumed that the collision had been his fault. He immediately jumped out of his car to see if the other driver was okay.

As he tapped on the window the person inside turned to face him and it was then that his turquoise eyes met two hazel ones. One thing ran through his head, _God those eyes are beautiful._

**Author's Note: Oh, God, please don't hate me! I know I'm being really cruel to Gabriella, but I really honestly can't stop it. And as you can probably tell, it's only going to get worse from here. But worry not! I write happy endings! I just have a plan of what I'm going to do with this story. **

**Once again thanks for reading and don't forget to review and tell me how long I should make this story.**

**Thanks!**

**~callmetrue**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Thanks for all of the reviews, they make me very happy. It has also come to my attention that readers are confused as to if Troy and Gabriella will end up together. I would like to think the answer is obvious. I just want it to be kind of dramatic so that the story is enjoyable and longer. Also I want this story to be of how the two find love in each other rather than a story of their romantic relationship. I hope that makes sense.**

**Also this chapter is the reason why the rating is T. There's going to be a little cursing. Just a little heads up. If it makes you uncomfortable, sorry.**

**Anyway, on to the story!**

**Royal Heartache Chapter 4**

Two weeks. It had been a freaking two weeks since she had last talked to Troy. This was ridiculous. Here she was at the royal palace picking the color scheme for her engagement party, when she didn't even know if she actually was getting engaged to the man of her dreams or not. The king and queen automatically assumed that the plan was a go and started preparing right away.

Gabriella should have been happy, no she should have been ecstatic but she wasn't. Troy had never given a straight answer on whether or not he would get married to her. If that wasn't enough he never showed up to plan anything, never returned her texts or phone calls, whenever she would go to his quarters she would be told that he wasn't there. She couldn't help but think that he was avoiding her.

"Dear, what do you this of this color? Oh wait. Did you want the theme to be yellow or red?" Gabriella snapped back to reality.

"The color? I'm not really sure. Whatever you think is best will be fine." Honestly this was the last thing she wanted to be doing right now. She hadn't even received a formal proposal! Why was she here planning an engagement ceremony and party when no one even knew if she was going to get engaged or not! This was total bullocks!

"Gabriella, dear, are you alright? You seem to be distracted whenever we're planning or whenever you're here for that matter. Please, do tell me what's wrong." She had tried her best to keep her emotions under control and plaster a nice smile on her face in front of the queen, but apparently it wasn't working out so well.

"It's just….I feel like we are rushing things. I mean it's not like Troy has officially agreed and proposed. And I don't want for you to plan all of this if it might not happen. I just don't want to waste yours or anyone's time." The queen could hear the sincerity in her voice and also the sadness.

"Gabi, is there something going on between you and Troy? I thought the happiest would be you two."

"That's just it your majesty, there is nothing going on between me and the prince. We were never together so this will all be a waste." The sadness was evident in her voice.

"Gabriella, don't worry, he will come to his senses. I don't want anyone else to be my son's wife and the future queen of England besides you. Just don't worry about it too much; we wouldn't want to you to have wrinkles by the end this year." She had to admit this made her feel much better. "And if you want, we can slow down the planning a bit until everything is official. In the mean time why don't you try talking things over with Troy."

"Thank you that would be wonderful. Taking things more slowly seems like a better plan. And regarding Troy, had he actually been outside the palace or has he been purposefully avoiding me. Every time I go to talk to him, they tell me that he's not there."

"Now that I think about it, where could that boy be? I haven't seen him around in weeks ever since that lunch we had together. Well I will keep an eye out for him. You should go home and try to relax. Remember, only you will do." The queen gave the countess a reassuring smile.

Gabriella nodded her way and slowly prepared to leave. "Thank you so much for everything your majesty. I really appreciate it. I guess I will see you soon whenever you feel like you need someone to talk to." With a small smile she left the room and made her way through the winding hallways towards her car when she saw a familiar face.

Troy was feeling great, no he was feeling better than great, he was high atop cloud nine. He found himself whistling and skipping through the palace towards his quarters. Nothing could dampen his mood that is until he bumped into a petite brunette who had happened to be making her way to the parking lot. He couldn't say he was happy to see but he wasn't sad either, he was indifferent.

"Hey. What brings you to the palace?"

"Hey. Well, you mother asked to see me again so… I haven't seen you around these days. Where have you been?"

"Around I guess. Wait what do you mean again? Have you been coming here a lot?"

"Oh. Well…" Gabriella had no idea what she was supposed to say in this situation. _What? Should I tell him that I was here planning our engagement party when he hasn't even asked me to marry him!_ The conversation was awkward enough already. "You mother has been busy planning all of these events, she just needed a hand."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

"Troy, we really need to talk." She couldn't do it anymore. She needed a direct answer no matter how much she didn't want to hear it. I mean she couldn't keep wasting the queen's time and she needed time to gather herself after the inevitable happened.

Troy didn't want to have this conversation with Gabriella either. Now he wished he could conjure up the happiness that he had just had. _Here goes nothing. _"Yeah, I guess we do. Come on, let's go to the garden."

The garden at the Royal Palace was as beautiful as it was big. And let's just say it was huge, probably as big as the palace itself. It was split into many different sections all containing something different. One part held the tennis courts and other sports complexes while another part held a large fountain surrounded by flowers of all different shapes and colors. The garden also held a pond in the corner with little row boats and a big willow next to it. The grounds were the perfect place to be on a nice sunny day, and that's why Troy brought her here. There was no better place to talk than the garden.

"Look I know it's really awkward right now with the whole engagement thing. But I really don't want you to think that I've been avoiding you or anything."

"Where exactly have you been? I've been around here for two weeks trying to talk to you."

"I've been kind of busy with some things." he said scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh…"

"Well, about the engagement thing, I feel like I have to apologize on behalf of my mother. I mean it was weird for her to jump into the situation. I mean I know my position holds a lot of responsibility, but I feel like my marriage of all things shouldn't be controlled by my parents."

_Ouch. That hurt. _Gabriella knew what she had to say. Even though her heart was telling her not to her mind kept telling her it was the right thing to do. "Troy, I get it, you don't want to marry me. It's fine I totally understand. I mean let's just pretend like it never happened."

"It's not so much I don't want to marry you… Wait what?" Troy looked at her in amazement. Usually if the king and queen pushed something, courtiers weren't the first to go against orders. "Really? You're fine with pretending like it never happened?"

_NO! I'm not! I hate that I just said that, and I hate you even more for making me say it! _"Yeah. But I call that you're the one that has to tell your parents."

This made Troy laugh. Leave it to Gabriella to be cool with an awkward situation and even make a joke out of it two seconds later. "Thanks Gabs, I knew I liked you for a reason." He said giving her a little wink. Her heart fluttered but fell and shattered on the ground all within seconds. "It's nice to have someone who is always on your side, so thanks for always being there."

"No problem." _ I'll always be here for you no matter what happens. I lo-_

"Speaking of which, I have something to tell you." Gabriella gave her friend a questioning look. Somehow she knew it was going to be something bad. Something really bad.

"What?" she asked apprehensively.

"I think I'm in love."

_WHAT THE F**K! Did he just say what I think he said? _She tried to keep her voice as even as possible. "What did you just say?"

"Gabriella, I think I'm in love!"

"With who?" she couldn't keep the tinge of sadness penetrating her voice. This did not make sense…

"Her name is Hannah, and she is the most amazing girl I have ever met in my life! She's beautiful, she's smart, she's witty, and most of all, she has the most beautiful eyes."

_I feel like I'm going to hurl. Deep breaths Gabriella, deep breaths, don't freak out yet. In and out, in and out, you got this. _She cleared her throat and asked with a fake smile, "Who is this Hannah and why have I never met her before? Whose daughter is she?" with every word she said she could feel the pain multiplying.

"It's actually a funny story, how I met her that is. After that ridiculous lunch with you and my parents I went driving to clear my head. But me, being a deep thinker, forgot to look at the road for like a second and I rammed my car into hers. Best mistake I ever made."

Gabriella's vision began to blur and she could feel the hot tears form in her eyes. _Breathe Gabriella Montez, breath, you will not cry in front of Troy for any reason. _Once again she tried to look happy for her friend. "Wow what are the chances of that! Meeting a noble while driving, much less ramming into one."

Troy's smile faltered a bit. He guessed he should say something. It was his best friend! He couldn't lie to her. "Well, she not exactly a noble."

Her eyes got wide. "What? What do you mean she's not a noble?"

"Well there isn't exactly a rule that states I can't go out with a person that's not of nobility."

"Yeah, there isn't but- wait, you're dating her?"

"Duh, that's why I'm telling you. Why else would I tell you all these nice things about a girl?"

"Oh…wait, let's go back to the not a noble part. So you're telling me that you're going out with a girl who doesn't have a title, right?" he nodded, and she couldn't believe this nonsense. "Do her parents have one then? Or are they at least from a good family?" as Troy's expression got sadder she knew this was bad, no this was beyond bad, this was horrible!

"I don't think that money or titles should come in between love."

_Did he just say love?_ Gabriella was breaking apart. "You love her?" it came out as a whisper.

"Well, I don't really know because I've never been in love, but I've never felt this way about anyone before."

All she could do is nod her head. She took a deep breath and told the biggest lie that she could possibly tell. "I'm happy for you. Umm, I have to go. I'll talk to you later?"

"Thanks and yeah, I'll talk to you later. By the way, I would love for you to meet her."

Once again she nodded gave the fakest smile she had ever made, swallowed her tears, gave Troy one last look, turned around and walked away.

She had made it to her car without crying, but once the door slammed closed and she was surrounded by four tinted windows she started crying uncontrollably.

_How could this happen? _If it wasn't bad enough that he didn't like her, why did he have to like another girl? Why did there have to be another girl? Now Gabriella knew that she had no chance. _There's no way he would marry me when he has someone else in his heart. He would never do that to himself. _But what she couldn't get over was why the other girl had to be a commoner. _If you had to choose another girl over me, why did it have to be a girl below me? Why couldn't it have been a girl more deserving or more appropriate? Now you're going to have to go through hell with your parents. You stupid idiot, why? Why did it have to be someone that's not me?_

Gabriella speed dialed her other best friend, the one that wasn't shredding her heart into little pieces. "Sharpay, we really need to talk and drink, I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Even though the princess was having an intimate moment with her boyfriend, she could hear the desperation in Gabriella's voice. "Yeah, okay. Do you want me to call Tay?" Gabriella nodded into her phone. Even though she didn't say anything Sharpay knew. "SO I'm guessing it's hard liquor tonight?"

"You know me so well." Gabriella took deep breathes and sped down the familiar route towards Shar's mansion. When she pulled up to the driveway, she saw that Taylor's car was already parked and empty. She walked into the house, up to the open bar and took the shot that was waiting for her.

"Honey, what the hell happened? You look like shit." Unfortunately, Sharpay wasn't lying. Gabriella's eyes were puffy, her face red, and her make up running all over the place. "Tell us what happened."

The brunette said nothing; she grabbed another shot and swallowed it down. Then another and another until Taylor grabbed her arm. "Tell us what's wrong."

She started crying again, like a little baby. She wept and wept and all her two friends could do was sit there, watch and down some shots themselves. After what felt like centuries she finally spoke. "It's over, my wish, my dream is never going to happen. Everything I ever wanted in life is going to some other girl and I'm going to be left with nothing! I hate him! I fucking hate him! I hate you for leading me one. But you know who I hate more than you and him combined? Me. I fucking hate me!"

"G. Did you say what I think you just said?" she nodded.

"Yup, my Troy, MY fucking Troy just told me he loves another girl." When Gabriella said it out loud, it seemed more official and all she wanted to do then was get drunk.

Her two friends looked at her in shock. There was no way that Troy loved another girl. It made no sense! It was like telling someone that the earth was flat, it didn't make sense. And even if what Gabriella said was true, why didn't any of them know about this other girl. Troy was not eh kind of person to hide such a big secret like this.

While Sharpay and Taylor were mulling over these bizarre new developments, the heartbroken girl had gotten her hands on a couple more shots, she was now drunk. "You wanna know the best fucking part?"

The two sober girls knew it was bad when their friend started cursing. It meant one thing, she was angry and drunk, and with Gabriella, that was a lethal combination.

"I saaid! Do you wannnaa know the best fucking part?" She was slowly starting to slur her words. "The other bitch is a lowly commoner! She doesn't have a title or money; she's just some girl he rammed into on the street! How fucked up is that?"

If Taylor and Sharpay weren't appalled before, now they were. "You have got to be shitting me."

"Wait, so you're telling me that Prince Troy, the next king of England, is ditching you, Gabriella Montez, the Countess of whatever, for some girl? Is he crazy? His parents are going to fucking kill him when they find out!"

"Well serves the bastard right. I hope his parents scream, yell, and do everything I want to do to him but can't. I can't believe that he would do this to me! It's me! I'm G. Montez! I'm nice to everyone! I'm smart, I'm preeetty, I donate to charity, and I'm a good-ass girl! What the fuck am I missing?" at this last part the 20 year-old started crying again. "I'm a good girl…"

"I know you are honey. And don't you worry; we're going to help you. Whether it's stealing Troy back or making his life hell, we'll be here for you."

"Awww guys! I knew there was a reason why I liked you!" at that moment, Gabriella realized that that was exactly what he had said to her earlier. This made her cry even more.

Taylor and Sharpay looked at each other, unaware of what made Gabriella cry harder, but nonetheless knowing they were in for a long night.

_Troy you better look out, I'm going to make your life hell to the point that you're going to wish you never met that stupid girl._ Sharpay always had her friend's backs. _You betray my best friend; I'll make you pay for it. _And she knew there were a bunch of people willing to help her cause.

_Watch out Troy Bolton, there will come a day when you wish you had just gone for Gabriella Montez. I'll make sure of it._

Even though Gabriella didn't know it at the time, she will later discover that having Sharpay on her side is actually helpful.

**Author's Note: Yes, another sad chapter. I know, you don't need to tell me. But at least there is a ray of hope in Sharpay ;) Well I hope you like the chapter, please continue reviewing, and I will update soon! Thanks!**

**~ callmetrue **


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thank you all for your reviews! Especially those of you who do so for every chapter. It is very much appreciated! You guys really truly rock, not going to lie **

**Here **is** the new chapter! Enjoy!**

**Royal Heartache Chapter 5**

It had been a full week and a half since Gabriella had visited the queen. Queen Anne was starting to get worried. Although she had told Gabriella that the engagement plans would be taken slowly, she couldn't help herself. Within the last week she had planned out the whole thing down the type of font on the placement cards.

"Clara? Can you personally send a message to the Countess' household? Tell her I would really like to see her." Clara had been the Queen's personal assistant for six years. She was needed for the most urgent and important things that the queen needed. She was asked to do the most important things herself. This meant that the queen mean serious business.

"Yes, your majesty." Her personal assistant got right to work on the task before her. Anne could not understand what was taking so long for the couple to be official. It was starting to get frustrating.

"Clara, wait! Can you get the prince to me as soon as possible?"

"Of course your majesty." She was going to get to the bottom of this issue now. She needed everything to go according to plan, and right now things were disastrous. Anne had thought that Troy would have proposed by this point, she was disappointed to say the least.

"Your majesty, his royal highness, Prince Troy is not in his quarters at the moment but I have sent a message to his security detail passing on your message. As for her grace the Countess Montez, she politely declined your request, citing that she had already made plans."

"First of all, where is that boy? I haven't seen him around in weeks! I want his security details and his assistants to make a report by dinner tonight. Secondly, did you speak to the countess herself?"

"No, I did not your majesty. Her assistant told me that her grace was busy entertaining a guest of hers."

"Well set up an official meeting if you have to. I want to see her before the next week, and I want to see the prince the second he gets in. and don't forget that report on him."

"Of course your majesty." Clara quickly left while the queen's head dropped to her hands and she let out a big, long sigh. _My goodness, what the hell is going o around here?_ Just then she thought of a brilliant idea. _Sharpay._

Miserable, the perfect word to describe how Gabriella felt. For the last week and a half all she had been doing was stay at home and sulk around. She would also occasionally go to class when and do her homework. Thank god the school year ends soon. The only thing keeping her sane was her two friends who would visit her every day that they could, which was basically every day.

She had received numerous calls from the queen requesting her to visit, but every time she had found some kind of excuse to avoid confrontation. She had nothing to say to the queen besides news that would only disappoint her. Gabriella couldn't help but feel that she had let down the queen and her family. It was weird, it wasn't exactly that she expected this marriage, but still when it didn't happen, she felt sad and disappointed.

"Your grace?" Gabriella turned to face her personal assistant. "Her royal majesty, the Queen would like to make a formal meeting as soon as possible." She didn't mean to but she couldn't stop herself from letting out a big groan.

"Did Clara call or was it somebody else?"

"It was indeed Ms. Braxton and she sounded very urgent." Gabriella knew that the queen was serious about seeing her. She would usually have some nobody be the one to call, but since the avoidance started it seemed as though the monarch was getting desperate.

"Fine. Tell her that I'll be there this coming Friday. Maybe for lunch or maybe afternoon tea I guess."

"Yes your grace."

"Oh and Michelle, can you be sure to tell me when Sharpay or Taylor get here. Also I need you to get all the materials for our family's formal dinner coming up."

"Of course your grace." As if she didn't have enough on her mind, Gabriella was given the task of planning and preparing her family's semi-annual formal dinner. Usually her mother took charge of it, but now with the 'you might be the next princess' mess, her mother wanted her to have more experience planning events. This was just another added burden on her shoulders.

Gabriella went back to looking at all of the different shades of light blue and all of the patterns for the table cloth. She was getting bored out of her mind, although she just wanted to slack off and pick everything randomly, she knew her mother was expecting a lot from her; especially with the king, queen, and the crown prince in attendance. _Oh God, Troy is coming to the dinner as well…shit. _It was true; she had been avoiding him like the plague.

_**I don't want the world to see me cause  
I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's meant to be broken,  
I just want you to know who I am.**_

Gabriella reached for her iphone. She knew who it was even before she looked at the screen. She remembered when she had decided to make a special ringtone for him.

_It was only two years ago, almost to the exact day when the two of them were lying on the large plush sofas in Troy's lounge. It had been a few weeks since the acquaintances had met again. After the two instantly hit it off, they began to spend more time with each other just hanging out. Today's excursions brought them Troy's place. They had just finished playing Rock Band on his huge LED TV. They were wiped out after an intense game and were now listening to songs on his fabulous stereo system. _

"_You listen to rap? No way!"_

"_Why? Because I'm a girl? Seriously, guys need to stop being so sexist." They were listening to Gabriella's most recent playlist._

_Troy laughed, "It has nothing to do with being sexist. It's just that a girl like you doesn't seem like you would listen to Kanye West, that's all."_

"_Well you don't seem like the person to listen to Mandy Moore either."_

"_Hey! It's only one song!" it was Gabriella's turn to laugh._

"_Sure of course it was…" Troy was going to make another witty remark when he heard the chords to his favorite song._

And I'd give up forever to touch you  
Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life  
Cause sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am

"_I can't believe you still listen to this song."_

"_What can I say, it's almost a classic, and I love my Goo Goo Dolls." Gabriella's heart started beating faster and s bigger smile took over her face as he began to sing along. _

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything seems like the movies  
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive

And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am

I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am

I just want you to know who I am  
I just want you to know who I am  
I just want you to know who I am  
I just want you to know who I am

"_God, I love this song." Troy had just finished belting out his favorite song. "It's so weird. I never thought that anyone would still listen to this song. I thought I was the only one."_

"_It just brings me back to when I was little. One of my tutors loved listening to this song and would play it all the time. I guess it just brings me back to a time when everything was easy and simple. It like takes away the feeling of nostalgia. Why do you still listen to it?"_

"_I guess it's like one of those songs. You know the ones that you just connect to and it fits how you feel."Gabriella nodded; she knew exactly what he meant. "Especially the chorus, I feel like it embodies my life. Everyone in this country and probably the world know me as Prince Troy, the pretty tall, good-looking guy that's going to rule England one day. But I want the person I love to see the real me. The me that's not plastered over every tabloid, and the me who actually has feelings."_

"_Wow, in that case, my reason just sounds plain out stupid and insignificant."_

_Troy laughed, "Not at all. Yours is just cute and simple, mine's just heavy."_

"_So I guess it's like the soundtrack of your life."_

"_I guess so."_

The next time they met. They shared the ringtones they had picked out for each other. His ringtone for her was "Touch the Sky" by Kanye West with Lupe Fiasco. Hers for him was of course "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls. Both were more than satisfied by the songs the other chose for them.

She quickly snapped out of her reverie when she remembered why she was having the flashback in the first place. She took a deep breath before picking up her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Gabs! How are you?"

"I'm good I guess, I'm busy with my family's dinner."

"Oh, yeah, the dinner! Don't forget to save me a seat." He joked.

"Of course not! Your parents would kill me, not to mention my parents." It had never happened before, but for the first time since they became friends, there was an awkward silence.

"Well, I wanted to apologize for not being around lately. And I know things are a little weird with the engagement thing and with Hannah, but I want to hang out, like we used to."

So that was her name…Hannah…wow no word could get Gabriella as mad as this one name. The name that ruined it all. But she swallowed her dislike and carried on. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good."

"Only pretty good? Ouch I must say that I'm a little hurt."

"You know I didn't mean to say it like that." She finally had a small smile on her face.

"When will be a good time?"

"Ummm, I'm not necessarily busy, but just have a lot of things to do. So you can just give me a time and I'll try to make it."

"Okay, well how does Thursday sound? For lunch?"

"Yeah, that sounds very do-able. So I'll see you at Ocean Villa?" Ocean Villa was a classy restaurant that was a family as well as a personal favorite for the both of them.

"No, I'll pick you up at your place at eleven."

"Oh, wow you are getting fancy. You must really feel bad about forgetting about me." She joked.

"Ha ha very funny. You know I would never forget about you. Besides Chivalry isn't dead and never will be in this country. And on top of that, if my parents ever found out that I made you personally drive to a lunch date, they would kill me. You know how much they love you."

_At least someone in your family loves me…_"Fine that sounds wonderful. See you on Thursday." Making plans with Troy no doubt made her feel a little happier. Spending time with Troy was always fun in some way. But then she remembered that this would be their first hang-out since that Hannah came into the picture. Gabriella had no idea what their "date" was going to go.

_You can have an awkward silence in a phone call…it's not rare is it? _She began having doubts. _Oh my god, it's going to be so awkward! Why would I agree to this? It was a stupid idea. _But she knew she could never say no to Troy, whether it was to his face or even his voice. _I really hate myself._

"G!" she turned to see her best friend standing over her with a look of concern on her face. "What are you thinking about? I mean people always notice me when I walk into a room and you usually look too, so since you didn't look, I'm guessing something is up." Leave it to Sharpay to diagnose a problem in the most ridiculous way.

"I think I may have made the stupidest mistake. I don't even know what I was thinking?"

"First of all why don't you tell me what you did before you start crying on me?"

"I told Troy that I would go out to lunch with him on Thursday."

"Are you serious? You were on the verge of crying because you're having lunch with the man you love? You Gabriella are one weird chick."

"It's not the lunch part that I'm upset about. It's the Troy part!"

Sharpay just looked back at the brunette with a questioning look. "What does that even mean?"

"For the first time in my life there was an awkward silence in a conversation that I had with Troy! If I can't even handle a five minute call without the elephant in the room getting in the way, how am I going to get through a whole lunch date?"

"Awww, he called it a date?"

"Sharpay that's not the point!"

"Fine, I'm sorry, continue. Oh wait, never mind, you finished." Gabriella just rolled her eyes."I must say it comes as a surprise that you two out of all the people in the world didn't have anything to talk about, but it's not impossible. And phone calls are always weird so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you."

"I guess so. But what happens if he starts talking about Hannah?"

"Who?"

"His girlfriend."

Sharpay looked up suddenly at her friend. "Girlfriend? Since when?"

"I don't know if it's official, but it sounds like a done deal." Gabriella dropped her head and started fidgeting with her hands.

"Don't you ever call that little home-wrecker his girlfriend. That is total nonsense. And you! Stop looking like your puppy died! Look confidant woman! That's how you steal your man back! With confidence and a killer wardrobe!"

"Steal him back? He was never mine to begin with."

"Oh don't get technical with me! All you need to think about is how much you want him, and I'll do the rest."

"Wait, what are you planning on doing? Sharpay, I just really want to let this go. It's Troy's life and he should decide what to do with it."

"Oh please! Having a little gold-digger for a queen isn't going to help anyone! Not even Troy! He just hasn't seen that yet. But worry not! He will soon."

"Please Sharpay; you haven't even met the girl. How do you know she's not just some nice girl?"

"That's enough out of you! I don't want to hear anymore of your inability to say no to Troy. Like I said before, you just concentrate on confidence and beauty; I got your back on the rest."

"No, seriously, Shar-"

"No! What did I say about talking?" Gabriella knew there was no stopping Sharpay, whatever her plans were.

"Fine!" She threw her hands over her head to show that she had indeed given up. This brought a big, gorgeous smile to Sharpay's face.

"Fantastic! Now let's go shopping!"

"Shar, I can't I help to do this dinner stuiff."

"No, this can't wait, we're going right now!"

"Sharpay, I have clothes! Actually I have a few closets full of them! Besides I really don't want to shop!"

"Rule number one; you stop complaining. Rule number two; you always listen to what I say. Rule number three; I get to make up more rules as we go. Now get ready to go out! We can't have you going out to meet your prince in last week's clothes! Besides, you know shopping will make you feel better. It _always_ does."

Gabriella knew the last part was true. She didn't know what it was, but the feeling of going from store to store carrying bag after bag, smelling the scent of new clothes, shoes, and bags, hanging out and having girl-time with her girlfriends always made her feel better."Fine! I'll go get ready. You stay here and try not to paint everything pink while I'm gone!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. She knew that she had Gabriella right where she wanted. She was going to play fairy godmother. But forget Cinderella! Gabriella needed her more!

The brunette, on the other hand, walked away hoping that Sharpay's pans wouldn't backfire.

_Great. What have I gotten myself into?_

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, I tried to update earlier but it didn't really work out. Sorry, but I hope you enjoyed this next installment and please leave me your reviews!**

**Thanks again for reading!**

**~callmetrue**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. I know it's early to getting anything remotely close to writer's block, but I have this other story idea consuming my thoughts… Hopefully I can both finish this one and start the other or just go right into the other one. We shall see. Thanks for waiting!**

**Royal Heartache Chapter 6**

_Breathe…just breathe Gabriella, there's no need to freak out. You're just having lunch with Troy, something you've done thousands of times. Relax… _Gabriella was waiting for her lunch buddy to pick her up for their inevitable awkward conversation. After a long and tiring shopping trip with Sharpay yesterday, Gabriella was fully satisfied with her outfit. She was wearing a three-quarter sleeved white shirt with a black sequined design on the stomach. She had on short navy shorts and finished off her look with a pair of extremely high, white heels. The shorts coupled with her heels made her tan, slim legs stand out turning the heads of males wherever she went.

Gabriella looked down at her watch waiting for the seconds to pass by quicker. Although she knew it would be hard to face him and carry a normal conversation, she still anticipated staring into his lovely blue eyes and his tall lean figure with just the right amount of muscles to make her want to run up and kiss every inch of him.

With ten minutes remaining until his proposed pick up time, she made her way down her twin staircase onto her foyer made of pure white marble. Her heels made loud clicking noises as the entrance wing of her house echoed every sound that was made. She was planning to watch TV downstairs as Troy was always late to their meetings. The press always had a field day when he would leave his house and head somewhere. This meant tons and tons of security escorting the dear prince wherever he went.

What shocked her was that halfway down the marble staircase she found those beautiful cerulean eyes that she was constantly dreaming about. It would be an understatement to say that she was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh….Did you forget about our lunch date?" Troy shot her a questioning look.

"No. I didn't forget…" _How could I ever forget plans to spend time with you? _"I just meant, you're always late because of the crowd, so I was expecting you to be late." She said with a shrug.

"Well, I thought I owed it to you because we haven't seen each other in a while. And I have an appointment at three so I wanted as much time as I can get with my best friend." Troy then shot her a wink that made Gabriella want to faint. "But, if you prefer me to be late, I'll just step out and come back in about twenty minutes."

"No!" Gabriella said a little too loudly. Realizing her little outburst she cleared her throat. "Uhh… I mean, since you're already here why don't we just leave, I mean you don't really need to waste more time you know…"

"Awww, you want to spend time with me too!" he said somewhat sarcastically and in a little too sweet voice. At this Gabriella rolled her eyes and proceeded to push her best friend out to his personal favorite car, his jet black Audi S4. This was Gabriella's personal favorite car out of Troy's never ending collection of cars. She loved it so much because this was their car. It was the car they picked out together for him and the car they always drove when they were together. This was the one car that had only carried two passengers in its whole history.

The Audi was Troy's personal favorite too. He loved the speed, the comfort, the kickass sound system, but what he loved the most was that this car actually had a meaning and was special to him. Believe it or not, it was the one car that he hadn't replaced with the newest model. The Audi was the same exact one he had bought two years ago. Usually he replaced his car every year with the newest model, but this one was special. It was the little secret that no one else knew about between Troy and Gabriella. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a secret, because all of their friends knew about it, but they didn't complain, they thought it was mad adorable that the two had a personal bond that didn't include anyone else but the two. Gabriella couldn't help but remember how their car came to be.

"_Okay, so here are my options."Gabriella just rolled her eyes at her best friend and pretended to be listening. "I can go with the Mercedes, Maserati, or the BMW. What do you think?"Troy then proceeded to lay out a stack of pictures of all the models he was considering. He then looked up to his friend with a hopeful look in his eyes._

_Gabriella sighed and instead of turning down to look at the pictures, to Troy's surprise she turned toward his face. "Troy Bolton, how many times do I have to tell you that I really don't care what kind of car you get?"_

_Troy pouted his lip, "But Gabi… I really need help! It took me like two months to even narrow down all my options down to these three choices. And at this rate the models I'm considering will all be gone by the time I finally choose, and then I'm going to have to start all over with the newer models and then it's going to take months and months-"_

"_Okay Troy! So you need to decide soon, I get it. But why don't you just ask Chad to do it? I have no idea what all of this means, it's basically all gibberish to me."_

"_Well, first off, I like you more than Chad," Troy said this with such a wide smile that Gabriella almost died, "…and secondly, he already picked out like ten of my previous cars for me."_

_Gabriella once again rolled her eyes. "Okay, so if you have at least ten cars, why in the world do you need another one? Just do with the ones you have!"_

"_You know the charity ball coming up?" Gabriella nodded. Her mother had been going ballistic with the planning the event, talking non-stop about it. "Well, my parents suggested that I auction off my cars. So with about a third of my cars gone, I need to pick out new ones."_

"_How many are you auctioning off?"_

_This question caught Troy off guard. "Uh…about three?..."_

"_Troy Bolton, don't you dare lie to me!"_

"_Fine! I'm auctioning off thirteen of my-"_

"_You have 26 other cars lying around?"Gabriella then started pouting and then started to look angry. Troy didn't know what to do. He didn't think that Gabriella would be that offended when he had lied to her._

"_Gabi? Are you mad that I lied to you? Because if you are I am so sorry! I mean it was a joke!" Gabriella didn't respond and continued to bite her lip and look unhappy. "Gabi! It's not a big deal! Why are you mad? So what if I lied about how many cars I have, don't make a big deal out of this. Come on Gabs, there are a lot more serious things I could have lied ab-"_

"_How is it fair that you have THIRTY-SIX cars when my parents won't even let me have ONE!"Gabriella's outburst had definitely caught Troy off guard but he couldn't help but laugh. Here he was thinking that she was made at him for lying. He couldn't help but laugh at himself and how cute Gabriella looked when she was pouting. "I mean I'm 18 AND I'm responsible AND I do well in school! Why shouldn't I get my own car! And why are you laughing at me!"_

_Troy responded after he finally caught his breath, "No, it's just that I thought you were mad at me."_

_Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows confused. "Why would I be mad at you?" then her eyes got wide as she assumed the worse. "Wait, did you do something stupid that I have to cover for?"_

_Now Troy was the one scrunching his eye brows, but this time in disbelief, "No! I thought you were mad at me because- you know what, never mind. And I really love how much you trust me. I mean it was one time! I only asked you to cover for me once!"_

"_Yeah, sure…once…" Gabriella smirked at her best friend._

"_Okay fine, maybe it was more than once…wait let's just go back to talking about cars." As soon as the word car came out of his mouth Gabriella was back to pouting, but this time Troy knew why. Then he thought of a brilliant plan. _

"_Okay, if you could pick a car what would you pick?"_

"_An Audi A4! Duh! It would be shiny black on the outside with a killer sound system, with a black leather interior and with the white LCD lights on the outside and the high-class three-spoke wheels, and-" Gabriella continued to gush about her ideal car._

_Troy couldn't help but think Gabriella was adorable at this moment. She had that spark in her eye that showed her happiness and excitement of describing her ideal car. "I thought you didn't know anything about cars."_

"_I meant the cars that you were looking at. But I know everything I need to know about my Audi. It's just my parents don't think I'm mature enough to handle owning a car. Ugh! It just makes me so angry! If I had that car, my life would be perfect!"_

"_I'm sure they'll come around one day. But in the meantime, tell me more about this fantastic car of yours."_

_Gabriella smiled brightly once again at Troy. "Well, the engine would be…" because she was so wrapped up I her fantasy, she didn't notice how much attention Troy paid to her descriptions. But she was pleasantly surprised three days later._

_Gabriella was having the worst day. She had to skip one of her classes because of an impromptu dress fitting and in turn had to skip lunch to make up the work. Then she had fallen asleep during another one of her classes because of her lack of sleep the night before when she had to help her mother pick out more colors and themes for the latest ball. Falling asleep might not have been bad, but it became a problem when her professor called her out on it. She then was given a BS lecture about how she shouldn't expect special treatment because she nobility. Then her driver was late because he got caught in traffic and she was forced to wait outside in her heels standing for almost an hour._

_By the time she reached her driveway Gabriella was exhausted and couldn't wait to head to her room and enjoy a nice quiet evening. But something black and shiny caught her eye. Her mouth dropped and she ran to her dream car sitting in her driveway. She turned to her chauffer and asked, well practically yelled, "Did my parents finally come to their senses and get me my car?"_

"_I don't think so you're grace." Gabriella was confused now. If it wasn't hers, then whose was it?_

"_Have I ever told you how cute you look when you're thinking really hard?"Gabriella's eyes jumped to the man getting out of the driver's seat of her car._

"_Is this your car?" Troy just nodded with a big smile on his face._

"_You like it?" unlike a smile that he was expecting, her mouth turned into a small frown._

"_You stole my car…"she wasn't really mad, but just a little disappointed that it wasn't her car._

_Troy laughed at her. "I tried to convince your parents to buy you your precious car, but they claimed that it was dangerous as you're starting to get tailed by the paparazzi and how could I argue with that? So I decided to be a great friend and buy the car for you." Gabriella let out a big smile. "Well, it's not actually yours, I just meant I bought it while thinking of you." Her smile dropped a little. "But you're welcome to drive it when you need to. And whenever we hang out, I promise I'll bring this car along so you can drive it." Her beautiful smile found its way back onto Gabriella's face._

_She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "You are the bestest friend any person could ask for."_

"_Don't worry, I know." He wrapped his arms around his best friend while she rolled her eyes. As they broke apart moments later he threw her a wicked smile and said, "So how about we take this baby out for a drive?"_

_From that day forward the car was dubbed the Troyella mobile._

"Are you going to get in the car or just stand there and waste all of our time together?" Troy brought her out of her daze in his usual joking tone.

"Oh, sorry. I just got lost in my thoughts." She stepped into their car while he held the door open for her.

"Yeah, I figured." And with that he shut her door and got into the driver's seat. Within seconds they were speeding out of her driveway to their usual restaurant.

Most of the conversation centered on school and classes and without an awkward silence that Gabriella had been dreading. They were both being normal, like nothing had changed. They would both make witty comments about the people surrounding them and how overrated having titles were.

When they arrived at Ocean Villa, they were led to their usual table. They made their way through their full course lunch with light conversation and everything seemed great. Gabriella finally felt reassured that they were back to normal. She felt like the sun was once again rising from the east and setting in west. Things were good, she was happy. That is until it was time for dessert.

They had both just finished laughing about something stupid Chad had said during one of his classes and they were enjoying their desserts. There was a comfortable silence that hung between them. But slowly the air between them started to shift to something more heavy. Gabriella could feel the change and she knew he was about to say something that she wouldn't like.

"So…you know the whole 'I have to get married before next year thing?'" Gabriella slowly nodded her head. "I know it makes things really weird between us because of the push my parents are giving you, but I just wanted you to be reassured that it won't happen. So you don't need to worry about it." Gabriella felt her throat close and tears starting to prick her eyes. She looked down and started to pick at her scrumptious dark chocolate raspberry cheese cake. When she didn't respond, Troy couldn't help but get a little worried. "Gabi, is something wrong?"

Gabriella shot her head up. "No. of course not. Why would anything be wrong? Everything is fine." _Fine? No! Everything is not fine! You just killed me! I hate you! _She then let out a very fake and quite loud forced laugh. Troy could see right through it.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…" Troy was skeptical about her answer. Then the expected awkwardness fell upon them. Gabriella knew that bringing up that girl would be another knife to her heart. But she needed to know. She needed to know Troy's feelings and intentions even if it left her dead in the heart. "So, how is Hannah? That is her name right?"

Troy was shocked that Gabriella would bring up Hannah, but he knew it could be a possibility. After all she was the reason why he had been neglecting his best friend. "Yeah. Hannah is great. You would lover her you know? She's actually really similar to you. Physically the only difference is the eyes, skin and she has straight hair. But personality wise you guys are so alike it's scary. She's caring, smart, beautiful, understanding…" Gabriella hated her more and more with every word Troy said about her.

Learning that Hannah was similar to herself made Gabriella want to rip herself apart and change every similarity Troy claimed they had. But she stayed focused and gave a small smile.

"The only thing is…" Gabriella's eyes darted up. Now she was interested. There was a catch. _Thank God…_ "She's great, but she's just a little pushy is all." Now she was intrigued.

"Pushy? What do you mean?" This was the great thing about being best friends with your crush; they help you out without even realizing that they are.

"She's always trying to make the relationship more serious if you know what I mean. It's bad enough that my parents are pushing for a lifetime commitment but having my girlfriend do it too, it's just a little too much." Although Gabriella was hurt to hear Troy call Hannah his girlfriend she was happy that she got an insight into Hannah's character. Although Troy couldn't see it Gabriella knew there was something suspicious about his new girlfriend.

"Well, I'm sure she has her reasons." Gabriella stated as nonchalantly as possible. When looked across to her best friend she was a bit shocked. He actually genuinely looked conflicted. She hadn't noticed before because she was too busy judging Hannah, but when she saw it now, she felt her heart break. _He genuinely likes her… _"You really like her don't you?"

Troy seemed a bit shocked at the direct question. "I think so."

It took all of Gabriella's might to not puke right there and then. She felt sick. She finally managed to choke out, "Well, I guess I'm happy for you."

"You guess? Gee, thanks for the support." Troy was finally smiling again.

"I'm just saying that because now you have to deal with your parents now."

"Yeah, I know… that should be fun right?" In reality, Gabriella was the furthest thing from happy, but he didn't need to know that. Deep down inside she wished his parents would throw a hissy fit and make him break up with Hannah. Gabriella was slowly starting to make herself sick with all her conflicting thoughts. But then he said something that brightened her day. "But who knows? Maybe it won't be serious enough to get my parents involved."

Inner Gabriella started doing cartwheels and flips all over the place. _YES! Maybe it's not as serious as I thought!_

"So that's why I was thinking you could meet her first and tell me what you think."

_WHAT? FUCK NO! WHY WOULD I MEET THAT BITCH? _Although her mind was screaming no, the only thing that left her mouth was…

"Uhh…."

**Author's Note: Like it? Hate it? Share your thoughts please! (Meaning please review…)**

**As always thanks a lot for reading!**

**~callmetrue**


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